


Adaptation

by wekingsandprettythings



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions, M/M, Realistic, Spoilers, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-24
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-26 17:50:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9914051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wekingsandprettythings/pseuds/wekingsandprettythings
Summary: Dan was always emotional during films, he didn't know why, he just was. Some how through the years he found a way to tie every movie he watch to his life, especially his life with Phil. Also known as, The five times Dan cried after a movie and the one time he told Phil why.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There are lots of spoilers to movies in this so sorry in advance if i ruin a movie for you. Other than that i really hope you enjoy this. I have been working on it for a while and I am really proud of it!

1\. Wall-E – October 2009

Dan was a crier. He made sure to tell Phil that on Skype one night when Phil was asking him all about his weird habits and traits. Dan didn’t know why he always cried after movies, or why he always wanted to watch the sad movies but he did. 

The first movie that he and Phil watched together was Wall-E. They were sitting on the couch in Phil’s room, snuggled close to each other like it was the last time they would see one another, and honestly they didn’t know if it was. Their relationship was new and unpredictable and they had only just met in real life a few hours before. 

It was strange for him to be wrapped up in Phil’s arms. He had spent weeks, if not months, imagining what it would feel like to have Phil pressed so close to him. It’s even better than he imagined. Phil is warm and soft, Dan fits into the curve of his body like it was shaped just for him to be there. Dan’s finally found his safe spot, his home if you will, and he never wants to leave it.

Wall-E is supposed to be a happy child’s movie, it’s not supposed to make people cry. At least that what Dan has told himself as he tries to choke by tears. Wall-E was reset, he’s gone back to Earth and he’s started his mission to clean it. He’s forgotten all the things that made him happy, all the things he loves. He’s forgotten EVE. She’s about ready to give up trying, Dan lets out a little sniffle, and he doesn’t want Phil to hear it. Dan loses it when EVE kisses Wall-E on the head holds his hand. 

All Dan has wanted for the last little while is to be able to keep Phil close, he feels lovely when he’s not messaging him, and he feels even lonelier when he doesn’t have Phil on Skype till they are both sound asleep. Waking up to the call still going, and Phil’s morning face waiting for Dan to wake up so they can resume what they were talking about.

Suddenly Dan has tears streaming down his face, Wall-E and EVE are in love, and they met by accident and just so happened to fall in love. It sounds somewhat familiar to what Dan is experiencing right now. He’s not ready to tell Phil that he loves him yet, he doesn’t know if Phil feels the same and he doesn’t want to scare him off. 

He can’t help but feel embarrassed for crying to the point where he can’t breathe, tears have stained his shirt, and his face has turned a light shade of red. He spends so long feeling sorry for himself with his hands over his eyes that he can’t look over and see that Phil is crying as well. 

Phil picks one of Dan’s hands from his face and interlocks their fingers. Next he kisses Dan on the head. When he bends down to do so, a tear falls from his cheek and lands on Dan’s head. Finally he looks up to see Phil’s glossy eyes, and a sweet smile on his face. They don’t say I love you yet, but they both see it in each other’s eyes. They spend the rest of the night in the same position on Phil’s couch not wanting to be apart from each other even though they know they will be separated again soon. For now all they can do is appreciate what they have and look forward to their uncertain future. 

2\. Where the Wild Things Are – December 2009

Dan was like a permanent member of the Lester household now, since October they had taken every opportunity they could to see each other. Phil’s mom and dad always giving him hugs when he entered the house. Always asking if he needs anything, making sure he knows he’s loved and welcomed there. Phil and his family have made Dan feel happier than ever in the last few months. 

It’s the beginning of December, Dan is spending a whole week with Phil while his parents are out of town. Dan tells his parents that he’s going to keep his “friend” company so he doesn’t feel too alone for the week, when really they have other things planned. 

On the third day they wake up around noon, Phil asks what he wants to do for the day, although Dan just had close to 10 hours of sleep he’s extremely tired for some reason. They settle for watching movies and taking naps on Phil’s couch. 

Phil reaches for a movie he and Dan watch all the time, thinking that it would be good background noise. When Dan realizes he’s putting on Kill Bill he feels kind of awkward.   
“Um, Phil,” Dan speaks up shyly and Phil turns to him. “Can we watch something else? After last night I don’t think I can face Uma Thurman.” Phil just laughs at him and resumes searching for a movie to put on. 

They decide on Where the Wild Things Are. It was Dan’s favorite book growing up, he even has a stuffed Carol at home, on his bed, that Phil has seen countless times in the back of Skype calls. They are fully enthralled in the movie, Dan sits up a little when he realizes his favorite part is coming.

Max is leaving, all the wild things are saying their goodbyes. Carol looks at Max and Phil turns to look at Dan. At the same time they say “don’t go. I’ll eat you up, I love you.” Dan can’t help but cry. Phil’s told him that he loves him nonchalantly when ending Skype calls or when he’s laughing at a dumb thing that Dan did. But never has it felt as genuine and real as when Phil says it now. 

Dan never wants to go, soon he will have too, but he’ll be back. However, the thought of leaving this time after all that’s happened is too much for him. Dan just settles into Phil’s chest and cries, he’s lightly chanting “I love you, I love you, I love you.” Phil kisses him on the head with each new I love you, as a way to make sure he knows it’s mutual. Phil is a man of little words when it comes to showing his affection. That I love you was a lot for him, but Dan knows how he feels and it’s enough for him. 

3\. The Notebook – March 2013

Life is tough, there are lots of ups, and in Dan’s case twice as many downs. He’s not on the best terms with his family, his career has taken off too quick for him to adjust, and things are changing for him and Phil. They went from just two guys lightly sharing their lives with strangers on the internet, to being known worldwide, the center of conspiracies, and a magnet for drama.

Their radio show is doing amazing, they have thousands of people tune in every Sunday, however Dan wishes one of their views would be from his parents, they are reluctant to watch as their son flirts with another boy live after throwing his education down the drain. Dan knows he can’t please everyone, but the only person he has to please is himself, and in doing so he will follow his dreams no matter what the consequence may be. 

His parents know he’s with Phil. He’s not hiding it from them anymore, he is hiding it from the rest of the world though. He’s trying his hardest to make it look like nothing more than friendship. Not because he’s ashamed of the relationship, but because he wants their careers to take off due to their own individual personalities. He doesn’t want to become successful and known just from being amazingphils boyfriend.

They haven’t had the best luck in hiding it. They were incredibly open about their relationship at one point and it didn’t help that YouTube glitches dropped their most personal video. Dan’s trying so hard for everything to be perfect and the universe just isn’t having it. They aren’t going to keep this a secret forever, they just need it to stay one for a little longer. 

Dan gets home from his first radio show he ever did by himself to an empty house. Phil was in Florida with his family for two weeks, meaning Dan was alone. The Lester’s had asked if he wanted to join them, and Dan couldn’t help but think of the conclusions people would jump to if they saw Dan there with Phil. Especially because Phil’s older brother Martyn was bringing his significant other on the trip. He knows one day he’ll get to go on a Lester family holiday, but today isn’t that day. 

Dan likes to watch sad movies when Phil is away. Not because he misses him or because he likes crying – although it is quite cathartic – he mainly watches them because Phil doesn’t like to watch them when he is home. 

Tonight’s movie choice is The Notebook. He hasn’t seen this since his ex-girlfriend dragged him to a special screening of it in 2007. Back then he thought it was just a dumb movie about love. He may have thought he was in love back then, but he wasn’t the level of love with her as the main characters were with each other. He looked at the ending and wished he would one day love someone like that, he didn’t even care if it was mean, he knew he wouldn’t love Erin forever. 

Dan makes himself some popcorn and get snuggled into the couch to watch the movie. This time around he’s feeling different. His heart aches with Ryan Gosling, how can you love someone so much and lose them? Having them die might be easier than knowing they are out there potentially loving someone else. Dan doesn’t know why he’s already so emotional and the movie is only half over. 

The universe works in funny ways, somehow, if you are meant to be together there are great forces that push you to be with that person. Maybe that’s why he found Phil, there’s something that was meant to come out of their friendship. What however, he doesn’t know yet. What could two extremely tall and dorky British guys contribute to the world? Little does he know, the universe has big things in store for him. 

He’s ugly crying close to the end. The type of crying that consists of heaving lungs and blurry, stinging eyes. He can’t seem to calm down and catch his breath. You don’t realize how much you love someone until you think of how your life would be without them. 

To have your heart stop at the same time as your lovers while you are peacefully asleep and cuddled into them is the only way to go. Dan can’t imagine the day that he and Phil are old. He can’t picture Phil leaving and he doesn’t know how to picture Phil having to live alone if Dan were to go first. 

And of course, Phil being the king of awkward moments just has to Skype him during this moment. He accepts the call, Phil’s face goes from excited to see Dan to shock and horror as he doesn’t know what is happening. Because Dan can’t calm down to explain what is going on he reaches for the DVD case and shows it to Phil. Phil can’t help but smile and laugh at Dan. 

“You are so cute. I love you so much.” Phil says with a smile and a chipper voice.

“I love,” dans breath is still shaky and irregular, “you” – “so much.”

He wants to tell Phil that he will always love him, and he’s sorry for all the shit that has gone down between them. That he’s ready to fully embrace the fact that they are in love and he doesn’t care who sees. That in the end their love is all that matters to him but he can’t get it out. And he doesn’t have to, Phil can tell. 

4\. The Fault in our Stars – June 2014

Dan had read tfios on his way to Vidcon the year before, he thought that a 10 hour flight would be the perfect time to read a book which is known to be emotionally traumatizing. He had enough time to read the book from start to finish, and he planned on doing so. Yet, he did not plan to become fully immersed in the world to the point where he felt as though he was one of Augustus Water’s friends. 

When he and Phil watched the movie for the first time he didn’t think he would cry as much as he did. He knew what was coming, he knew and was prepared for the ending. But the ending from the movie was different from the one in the book.

He had little tears in his eyes when Hazel said “like all real love stories ours will die with us, as it should.” Dan could agree with that. As much as he wanted to share his love with Phil to the world there is a larger part of him that wants to keep it a secret for their sake. Things that are important are not supposed to be shared and poked and invaded. They are meant to be appreciated. Which is what they intended to do. 

Gus’ death and Hazel’s reaction didn’t faze Dan. It wasn’t until the eulogy that he became a weeping mess. “Some infinities are bigger than other infinities… I want more numbers than I’m likely to get, and god I want more days for Augustus Waters than he got… I cannot tell you how thankful I am for our little infinity. You gave me forever within the numbered days and for that I am eternally grateful. I love you so much.” 

Dan's done the math. He’s been with Phil since he was 18 years old. That’s just over 1,400 days. It feels more like 3 weeks, its flown bye so fast. But he spent 18 years without him. Sure he didn’t know who he was for 15 of them, and then 2 of them he just looked up to him, but there was one year that he just wanted Phil more than ever. 

Now that he is with Phil he never wants him to leave. Phil has done so much for Dan that he will never be able to thank him for properly. So many nights that Phil kept him company. So many nights that he insured him that he was beautiful and amazing and worth it. Countless days where he was just there beside him for comfort. All the talks they have had about their futures and Phil assuring him that they will make the best of it, having no idea that their lives would be so crazy. 

There are so many instances that Dan has fully depended on Phil for is happiness, comfort, and love. They have gone from being two separate entities in this infinite universe to being one entity together. You can’t get Dan without Phil and vice versa. They have become a package deal. The simple thought of one of them leaving the equation is improbable. It’s going to be Dan and Phil from now until forever. 

The tears are heavy, but he’s quietly crying. These aren’t heart wrenching tears like the time he watched the notebook. These are light tears of thankfulness. He’s thankful that he has Phil and that he’s not experiencing what Hazel is. 

Dan doesn’t care that they are in a theater full of other people. He takes his hand and places it on Phil’s knee while laying his head on Phil’s shoulder. He moves his head so that he can kiss his neck and whisper up toward his ear the most sincere thank you he’s ever said in his whole life. 

Phil’s eyes are glossy, he’s not a crier. But he is over sentimental when it comes to Dan. “Thank you. I love you.”

They spend the rest of the movie with tear stained cheeks and sweaty hands from being interlocked so tight.

5\. Interstellar – November 2014

Dan and Phil bought interstellar on iTunes so they could stay home with each other. They have been in the same house but in different rooms writing for the past week. Dan has even taken to falling asleep in “his” room so that he can get as much work done as possible. 

They planned to watch this movie so that they can just focus on something that wasn’t related to them while spending time together. Interstellar was supposed to be the type of movie that made you think, and appreciate space and life on earth. It was a movie that would probably send Dan down a deep dark Wikipedia odyssey. But it was worth it if they could spend some time together. 

The movie was beautiful and breathtaking. Phil couldn’t stop praising Christopher Nolan for his beautiful directing skills and the care and effort he took to make it look realistic. Phil was a bigger space dork than Dan was. It was nice for him to see Phil’s face light up at all the different scenes and the beauty of space. 

One thing Dan didn’t expect when seeing this movie was the emotional roller-coaster it would send him on. The first thing to make him emotional is the line, “don’t trust the right thing done for the wrong reason.” There are so many things he has said and done in the past 5 years that he believed were right for him, but turned out to be wrong. 

The one thing that sticks out the most for him is when he went to University. If he was being honest he wanted to go to University so bad. He wanted to have intellectual conversations with smart people and find a group of kids that appreciated school and took things seriously. He wanted to study something he cared about and feel good about his education for once. But he went for Law to impress his parents and regrets it to this day. He could go back at some point. But his life took off so fast in the last year he doesn’t know if he ever will go back.

Neither of them expected the movies main theme to be about love. They were expecting science and mind boggling physics neither of them would fully understand. For the main topic of the movie to be love and understanding human emotion came as a shock to them. 

As the movie progressed it slowly became Dan’s favorite movie. He doesn’t start to get teary until they introduce the concept of love. Ann Hathaway’s character hasn’t seen the man she is in love with for over a decade. And she is still madly in love with him. She says “love is the one thing we’re capable of perceiving that transcends dimensions of time and space.” Which Dan couldn’t help but agree with. 

Love is weird. It drives you to do what you want most. For a long time Dan didn’t know what he wanted most. It wasn’t until he was in love that he realized what he wanted most in the world. He wanted to experience new things and do what he loved with Phil by his side every step of the way.

Their book was a perfect way to cement that. They have made this incredible world of Dan and Phil together that is so unique and perfect in its own way and it wouldn’t have happened without the love they have for each other. Whether it’s their friendship or their relationship, they love each other in more ways than just one. They are inseparable and they wouldn’t have it any other way. 

He doesn’t tell Phil why he’s crying because Phil always know why. Dan doesn’t feel like he has to tell him because Phil understands him more than any other person in the whole world. Some people call it love. 

+1. La La Land – January 2017

Someone in Dan’s live show chat asked if he’d seen La La Land yet, which he hadn’t, but really wanted to. So as soon as the show ended and before Phil could start their dinner Dan managed to get tickets and dragged Phil out for an impromptu date. 

Dan had seen the trailer and thought it was pretty interesting, but he also wanted to see if before the Oscars happened next month. They went and grabbed a quick Wagamama and were on their way to the theater. It wasn’t a rare thing for them to go to the movies at 11 pm but that night Dan felt really excited to just be out and being with Phil.

The movie is phenomenal. All the songs are amazing, the cinematography is astounding, and the colors are breath taking. Dan is completely enthralled in the world, he thinks it might be the most beautiful movie he’s seen in a while. All he can think is how badly he wants to listen to the soundtrack every day for the rest of his life. 

Everything is looking good until the end. Mia and Seb don’t work out, their careers take off separately, but they aren’t in each other lives anymore. Dan can’t help but feel the heart break of letting go of a love that you weren’t meant to have.

If it wasn’t for the flashback Dan wouldn’t have cried. He was doing good, pulling through and looking forward to saying the words, “see Phil, I didn’t cry at this one.” But the ending got him good. 

Mia’s life worked out. She got what she wanted. She has a successful career, a husband and a beautiful child. She also has bad luck because her husband brought her into the Jazz bar of the former love of her life. Once Dan saw the logo he knew he was in for it.

Her life flashes back, she and Seb meet differently, their love is stronger this time around. There is less fighting, more career success for both of them, and a happy ending. All because they met differently.

Everything in life happens for a reason. Every action you take leads you down a different path and alters the future. What if he never sent so many tweets to Phil in early 2009? What if Phil never replied to any? Or if he did, what if he didn’t want to get to know Dan? All these things could have happened and Dan could have ended up in a career he didn’t care for with a girl he didn’t really care about and a life that he wasn’t interested in living. 

But he did meet Phil. They met and fell in love and maneuvered over every obstacle that came their way because for some strange reason they were meant to be together and they were meant to be happy together. Dan just cries. 

He stays quiet and slightly teary the whole ride home. He’s closer to Phil than normal, Phil’s resting his hand on Dan’s leg and rubbing it with his thumb to comfort him. Dan wants to tell Phil everything. All the reasons why he cries, all the things he’s thankful for, but he doesn’t want to do it in front of the cab driver. So he starts to plan it in his head.

They are though the door of their flat for a millisecond before Dan is grabbing Phil’s hand and dragging him to the lounge and making him sit down. Dan starts to walk in little circles, he’s thinking, and Phil can help but smile because he is so madly in love with every little action and nervous tick that Dan has. 

“I love you,” Dan starts.

“Yes, I realized that about 7 years ago” Phil trails off

“Shut up for a second, okay?” he can’t help but smile a little, Phil is a cheeky little shit sometimes. Dan moves to sit beside him.

“Do you know why I cry after most movies?” Dan asks, looking down to fiddle with the hem of his shirt. Phil just shakes his head, Dan takes the silence as an opportunity to start talking again. 

He sighs before he starts, “I always tend to imagine either what it would be like if we went through what people in the movies went through, or I take the lesson in from the story and I think of how absolutely grateful I am that you are in my life.”

Phil just smiles at him. “Well, so far I think our little masterpiece is going pretty well. You don’t have to worry about a sudden plot change because I plan on being here with you for the rest of my life.”

“And they lived happily ever after?” Dan says with a cheeky wink.

“Yeah I think they do, you Spork.” Phil goes to shove his arm but Dan grabs him and pulls him into the couch. They stay cuddled like that for a while. Perfectly content with their story.


End file.
